DATE: Saturday, June 7, 1997                TAG: 9706070497

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C1   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY PAUL WHITE, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: RICHMOND                          LENGTH:   41 lines

ERRORS DOOM PRINCESS ANNE IN GROUP AAA SOFTBALL SEMIS

Varina capitalized on Princess Anne mistakes to roll past the Cavaliers 11-2 in a Group AAA softball semifinal Friday at Varina.

Princess Anne grabbed a 2-0 lead in the third inning and trailed by only a run after four. But five errors helped Varina tack on eight runs in the fifth and sixth.

``Nerves, I think,'' Princess Anne shortstop Kelly Hartzog said. ``There was a lot of pressure, and I think we started to feel it. But we did our best, and next year we'll be back.''

Varina (24-1) will host Fairfax in the state championship game at 7 p.m. Tuesday. Princess Anne ends the year at 25-3.

The game began on a positive note for both teams. Leadoff batter Hartzog ripped a Candace Hall pitch, only to see Varina shortstop Carmen Farmer spear it with a diving, backhanded stab.

``I felt really good about facing this pitcher,'' Hartzog said. ``I thought we were going to crush her.''

As it turned out, Hall, who one-hit Salem in Wednesday's quarterfinals, set down the Cavaliers on just four hits and retired 13 of the last 15 batters.

Hall was particularly sharp in tight spots. After Sarah Smith scored on a wild pitch and Melissa Hirsch came around on a delayed double steal, Hall retired cleanup hitter Kristi Nixon and Kelly Slingerland to strand Sarah Ravan at third.

And after Hartzog's one-out triple with the Cavaliers trailing by only a run in the fifth, Hall got Hirsch and Ravan, again stranding a Cavalier at third.

Central Region second baseman Keisha Shepperson's two-run single in the third inning gave the Lady Blue Devils the lead for good. Vicki Buisset's two-run single in the fifth and Hall's RBI double in the sixth highlighted Varina's late-inning surge, an explosion abetted greatly by Cavaliers miscues.

Princess Anne coach Dennis Nixon noted that of his team's five errors, four were made by freshmen, the other by a sophomore.

``I just think our youth came through,'' Nixon said. ``But it will be very beneficial for next year.''

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